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Are you wondering how fast the iPad 2 is compared to an iPad in real world tests?

This video of side-by-side speed tests shows typical iPad usage, things like booting, launching various apps, and shutting down. You’ll see the iPad 2 excels in most areas but lags, oddly, in shutting down. If you don’t want to watch the video, here are the raw numbers and the tests:

iPad 2 vs iPad Real World Speed Tests

Booting: 25.3 vs 28.6

Launching Infinity Blade: 10.6 vs 26

Launching Google Earth: 17 vs 20.3

Launch Garage Band: 3 vs 6

Launching Angry Birds: 8 vs 10.5

Shutting Down: 26 vs 12

Obviously this test is nonscientific and there’s nothing too groundbreaking here, but it’s interesting to watch anyway. Sure there are improvements in general speed and functionality, but I think we have yet to really see apps that really take advantage of the improved iPad 2 hardware specs.

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Just about every morning I call several Apple Stores and ask about their current inventory and availability of iPad 2 models. Up until this week, stores generally had nothing in stock by the time they opened, and the store reps continue to tell me they have lines in the mornings. This has eased up slightly for the Verizon iPad 2 models, but the GSM and WiFi versions continue to be extremely difficult to find.

If you’re like me and you didn’t bother to order an iPad 2 online (silly, it would have been delivered by now), you’re left checking stock at resellers and generally crossing your fingers as you hope to get lucky in the midst of countless others doing the exact same thing.

Enter the iPad 2 Inventory Scanner, which is bound to improve your chances. All you need to do is enter your zip code and the model you are looking for, and the utility will check all nearby Target stores for any inventory of the model you specified. Yes, you read that right, it only checks Target stores inventory, but it is still very useful and one of my friends used this tool to track down an elusive iPad 2 today.

The web app is based off the finder links that appeared on MacRumors forums some time ago, but the interface is much more user friendly for quick searches. So if you’re trying to track down an iPad 2, check this out.